Class sizes for five, six and seven-year-olds in Sussex have fallen dramatically.

The number of youngsters starting their studies in over-sized classes has dropped by thousands.

Less than 1,000 pupils are in classes of 31 or more this year compared to 5,573 last year and 14,036 the year before.

The biggest drop has been in schools in Brighton and Hove, where the number of pupils in infant classes with more than 30 pupils has fallen from 3,422 in January 1998 to 190 in September this year.

Education Department figures for East Sussex show the number has fallen from 6,433 to 316.

In West Sussex the figure is 472, down from 1,251 last year and 4,181 the January before.

Brighton and Hove Council, which took over education services in 1997, is delighted with the statistics.

Pat Hawkes, lead councillor for school effectiveness, said: "It shows the resources we are putting into primary schools are having the desired effect."

Education Secretary David Blunkett said: "Today's figures are excellent news for children and parents in Sussex. They show a further drop in the number of infants in large classes."

Opposition MPs have accused Labour of diverting funds from older pupils to reduce infant class sizes.